It has eight arms, three hearts — and a plan. Scientists aren’t sure how the cephalopods got to be so intelligent.

An octopus in an aquarium in Brest, France. The animals are highly intelligent, but researchers are uncertain how the trait evolved.CreditFred Tanneau/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

An octopus in an aquarium in Brest, France. The animals are highly intelligent, but researchers are uncertain how the trait evolved. CreditCreditFred Tanneau/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

By Carl ZimmerNov. 30, 2018

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Mr. Amodio said that scientists still need to learn a lot more about cephalopods before they can know if this hypothesis is sound. But the research may do more than shine a light on octopuses and their cousins: It could give us a deeper understanding of intelligence in general.

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I often wonder when I see people (i.e., politicians, bureaucrats, “celebrities”, pundits) how people can be so “dumb”. The memes that propagate through the human population are “interesting”. Some are helpful (i.e.: “look both ways before crossing”; “early to bed and early to rise … …”; the seven P’s) and others are dangerous (i.e.: “mind altering drugs expand your horizons”; “if one is good, more must be better”; fanatical religions). I do know, as much as anyone can “know” anything, the octopus has a better “grasp” of life that some people do. Maybe even me?